Brothers

Chapter 5

As Kirigiri walked down the halls to school, she looked around to see if she could spot Oowada. She hadn’t told anyone about what happened last night, and she waited to tell someone who Ishimaru could trust. She walked up to him and tapped his shoulder lightly, getting his attention.“Kirigiri? What’s up?” He asked, as she leaned towards his ear.

“I haven’t told any of this to anyone, and you are one of the few people that Ishimaru trusts.”

“So, it has to do with Ishimaru?”

“Yes. He’s in the hospital.”

Mondo winced back. “WHAT?! What happened?! The last time I saw him he was-… I gotta get there.” He went for the exit almost immediately, but Kirigiri stopped him.

“You can’t! No one is allowed to visit him. He is in such a critical condition for any company. The doctors are afraid he will never wake up from his coma.”

“HE’S IN A COMA?!” Mondo screamed, shoving Kirigiri to the side.

“Keep your voice down! As I was saying, they won’t let you in! I know how sensitive this topic must be to you, but you have to listen to me!” Kirigiri stared at the silent Mondo, and watched him walk away. “Thanks.” He said inaudibly, waiting for Kirigiri to get lost. Once she walked away, he bolted out the door, going straight to his motorcycle. He drove away without another word. When he reached the hospital, he stormed inside, getting everyone’s attention. Some gasps came from some of the young people. “It’s Mondo Oowada!” They whispered. He walked up to the front desk and glared down at the receptionist.

“Hello, sir. May I help you?” She asked.

“I need to see Kiyotaka Ishimaru. It’s urgent.” He replied.

“I’m sorry, sir. He cannot be visited right now.”

“Don’t tell me that crud. I need to see him right now. I am his best friend. I have to see him. Please.”

The receptionist stared up at him fearfully, opening her mouth to retort back at him, only to be punched by Mondo’s fist. Everyone let out high pitched gasps, but that didn’t stop him. He stomped off down the hall and towards Ishimaru’s room, even if it meant looking through all the doors and windows. Further down the hall, he finally found Ishimaru’s room, surprisingly unlocked. He slowly opened the door, cringing at the loud creaking the door made as he opened it. He tip toed inside, only to find out that no doctors nor nurses were present.

“Psh. Dumb.” He said to himself as he pulled back the curtain to see Ishimaru. He was lying on the bed in a completely straight position, no flaws or bends. His eyes were shut and a blanket was pulled over him to the chin. “Ishimaru… God, this is all my fault…! I should have chased after your dad! I-I saw everything…” Mondo was confessing right in front of him, not even caring if Ishimaru could hear him or not. “As the FBI dude led me home, I turned around and saw your dad knock you out with one of those tranquilizers. I mean, I don’t remember you dyeing your hair white or anything, but what’s weird is your hair is black right now…! I e-even punched the dude to try to get over there and stop your dad before he did that to you! But now… Now look what’s happened…” Tears began to roll down his cheeks. “This shouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for me being a sheep! I’m real sorry, Ishimaru…” He was cut off by light footsteps coming into the room. Mondo hid himself behind the curtain, and watched as the nurse pulled away the covers and exposed Ishimaru’s large scar. It seemed that they had already performed surgery and stitched everything up, yet, it looked mildly swollen. The nurse slowly dabbed a wet cloth on his wound, shushing him.

“Shhh… I know it stings…” She said, almost as if she knew what he felt, even though he was unconscious to feel anything. “We performed a scan… One of the scans we perform on the lifeless bodies who have passed into the other life to see what exactly caused their deaths… Your father really hurt you… Poor child… Poor, poor child…” She pulled away the cloth from his wound and walked away, looking at the straight line on the heart monitor in the corner of the room that Mondo hadn’t noticed before and sighed. She left the room and closed it slowly. By this point, Mondo’s face was coated with tears. He stood next to Ishimaru, hovering above him. As he looked about the room, he looked at one of the whiteboards that had Ishimaru’s name written on it, as well as a small message: ‘Nurse: Mikan Tsumiki.’ Where had he heard that name? He brought his hand over to Ishimaru’s face and stroked his cheek lightly, looking up at the straight line on the heart monitor, letting out a sigh, just as Tsumiki did.

“I’m so sorry, Ishimaru…” He mumbled, as his tears began to stream off his face. Just then, a high pitched beeping sound echoed through the room. It was the heart monitor. Mondo stared at it, watching the line slowly go up and down incredibly slow. He looked back down at Ishimaru and knelt down in front of him. “Ishimaru, can you hear me?” He asked, watching the heart rate increase.

Ishimaru’s eyes barely began to open, as his head turned slowly towards Mondo. “Oowada-kun…? I-Is that… You?” He whispered, as Mondo grasped onto Ishimaru, sobbing on his shoulder. “Oh my god… Yeah man, it’s… It’s me…”

Ishimaru’s arms slowly wrapped themselves over Mondo, as he leaned his head down on Mondo’s shoulder. “I-It hurts…” Ishimaru breathed, as he pulled away from Mondo and lied back down.

“What hurts?”

“Wh-Where’s my father…?”

“Answer me, Ishimaru. What hurts?”

The door slowly began to open, and Mondo crawled under the curtains. Tsumiki looked at the heart monitor and smiled. “You’re awake…! Are you alright?” She asked, her voice soft and lulling. Ishimaru nodded slowly, and asked his question.

“Where is my father…?”

“Your father… Ishimaru, your father is deceased…His head had been decapitated... We are still trying to locate the cause. I’m dearly sorry for your loss…”

Mondo gasped and covered his mouth with his hands, flashbacks of his brother’s death whirring through his mind. He felt the need to scream right there. He never wanted his best friend to go through what he had to. All Ishimaru did was nod, taking shaky breaths. “Visitors can now visit you, Ishimaru. I’ll tell that to the front desk.” Tsumiki then left.

Mondo then revealed himself from behind the curtains once more and knelt back down, holding onto Ishimaru’s hand. “I am… So… So sorry… Your father… He was a spectacular man… But… I-I just don’t want you do experience what I had to experience!!” He cried, as Ishimaru turned his head away, sniffling dangerously. “D-D-D-Don’t cry!! I don’t think your condition can withstand the pressure…!” Mondo stuttered, trying his best to calm Ishimaru down.

“Aniki… He’s gone…”

“I-I know. They’re still trying to figure out the cause. Don’t worry, Mondo’s here.”

Ishimaru turned his head to face Mondo yet again, and pulled him into the tightest embrace he could muster through his pain. Mondo immediately hugged back, rubbing Ishimaru’s back. “It’s okay, man. I promise I’ll do all I can to help you recover… A-A man n-never breaks his p-promises…” Mondo could feel Ishimaru nod on his shoulder. “Hey, I should be headin’ back before Kirigiri finds out I snuck in here.” Mondo said a few minutes later, pulling away from their embrace.

Ishimaru lied back down and smiled. “Alright. B-Behave…!” He grinned, as Mondo walked to the door.

“Hah! Don’t worry, dude. I got you covered.” He said, and walked out of the room. He walked back outside to his motorcycle and drove back to school, only to be awaited by an angry Kirigiri.